The National Health Foundation honored City of Hope’s Mildred Ortiz, R.N., B.S.N., with a 2008 Hospital Hero Award. Ortiz, a clinical nurse manager, was recognized at an award ceremony at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on Nov. 7.
 Clinical nurse manager Mildred Ortiz, left, consults with Dolly Golez. (Photo by p.cunningham) |
She was selected from a pool of 50 nominees from six Southern California counties for her excellence in nursing leadership.
“Mildred’s relentless pursuit of excellence in patient care is evidenced by her daily actions. Her reputation as an innovator and an early adopter of change and technology has earned her the respect of hospital and physician leadership,” said Shirley Johnson, R.N., M.S., M.B.A., chief nursing and patient services officer, who nominated Ortiz for the award. “We are extremely proud of Mildred’s selection as a Hospital Hero Award winner, a first for any employee of City of Hope.”
A staff member for the past 24 years, Ortiz is currently responsible for all post-operative inpatient beds at City of Hope Helford Clinical Research Hospital, and worked closely with her team to create procedures that helped reduce the number of falls in their units. These procedures have now been implemented in other inpatient areas of City of Hope as a best practice, noted Johnson.
The annual Hospital Hero Awards honor outstanding achievements of dedicated health-care professionals in Southern California hospitals. Proceeds from the event benefit the National Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovative programs that improve the health-care delivery system.
